


Seventeen Songfics

by SkyPhoenix13125



Category: K-pop, SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Reader-Insert, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:20:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 16,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26034808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyPhoenix13125/pseuds/SkyPhoenix13125
Summary: Songs by and about/revolving around the members of Seventeen.Originally posted on Wattpad, this is my original work.
Relationships: Boo Seungkwan/Reader, Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Reader, Chwe Hansol | Vernon/Reader, Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Reader, Jeon Wonwoo/Reader, Kim Mingyu/Reader, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Reader, Lee Chan | Dino/Reader, Lee Jihoon | Woozi/Reader, Lee Seokmin | DK/Reader, Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Reader, Xu Ming Hao | The8/Reader, Yoon Jeonghan/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	1. Seungcheol - Good To Me

Seungcheol took another small sip of his water.

He was staring at the floor, trying to concentrate. Trying to remember the choreography. The lyrics. The setlist.

What was the first song again?

"Hyung?" someone said.

He glanced up, startled out of his thoughts by Mingyu. "Are you okay? You look pale," the taller boy commented.

"I'm fine," Seungcheol replied. He tried to get his breathing under control. This wasn't good.

He couldn't remember the songs. He couldn't remember the formations. He couldn't remember anything. He couldn't even hear his own thoughts over the ruckus the other twelve members were making around him. They were warming up, laughing, talking amongst themselves without a care in the world.

How was he supposed to do this?

"I need some air," he commented to no one in particular. He rose from his chair and walked out into the hallway, fiddling with the sleeve of his shirt.

He glanced around at the backstage crew bustling from place to place, making sure that everything was set perfectly for their performance.

This had to go off without a hitch. It was the first time he'd be on stage in a few months. It had to go well. He had to prove that he was fine.

He was fine. He had to be.

But why couldn't he remember anything? Why was he so freaked out, like some hopeful trainee at their first audition? This wasn't like him.

"Hey," someone said, firmly grasping his sleeve in their hand. "You're going to rip your sleeve if you're not careful. Do you really want the stylists mad at you?"

He shook his head, barely listening to the person speaking.

"Cheol?" you said softly. His eyes snapped up to meet yours this time, recognizing the nickname instantly.

"(Y/N)? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to check on you." You gently stroked his arm. "Are you feeling okay?"

He slowly shook his head. "I don't know what's wrong," he said softly. "I feel sick. I feel...wrong being here."

He'd barely finished speaking before you'd pulled him into a tight hug.

"You listen to me, Choi Seungcheol," you said, your voice muffled by his shirt, "you are absolutely right to be here. You are the leader. You are the best rapper in the hip hop team. You're an idol, and you're going to show everyone out there exactly what that means."

"But I--"

You pulled your head back to stare at him. "But what? Which part of what I just said was wrong?" you demanded.

"None of it," he admitted quietly.

"I know that your nerves are probably shot because you took some time off. But you're going to give a great performance. You always do."

He took a deep breath. "You're right."

"I know I am." You leaned in like you were going to kiss him, then thought better of it. "Guess I shouldn't ruin your makeup, huh? Your stylist might get mad at me."

And for the first time in a few hours, Seungcheol smiled. "We don't want that." He furrowed his eyebrows.

"How did you know where I was?"

"I got a triple text," you replied. "Jeonghan, Mingyu, and Joshua are all worried about you."

He sighed slightly. "I can't believe them. I'm supposed to be the leader."

You didn't fail to notice the way his lips twitched up even though he was pretending to be mad. He was obviously in much better spirits than he'd been previously.

"Then go be the leader that they're so proud of."

Instead, he just smiled at you. You'd been his rock over the past few months, helping occupy his time and his mind during his mental break. You were everything to him, and he hoped that you realized it. That his love and affection in return was enough for you.

He actually opened his mouth to tell you that when he heard rapid footsteps.

"Hey, lovebirds," Jeonghan said. "We need to get on stage soon, so you'll have to catch up later. We have to do our cheer."

"I'll see you after, okay?" you said. He nodded, barely acknowledging Jeonghan tapping his foot behind him.

He squeezed your hand harder. "Wait." And before you could register what had happened, he had kissed you.

You stared at him in surprise. He just smirked. "What? It won't mess up my makeup if I do it. And I thought I could use a little extra luck."

"Choi Seungcheol--" you started, trying to think of something to wipe that smug grin off his face.

"Argue about it later, we have to go," Jeonghan grumbled, pulling on his friend's shoulder. This time, he started to follow, blowing you another kiss on the way.

You shook your head in disbelief. He'd been hanging around Jeonghan too much.

"Feeling better?" Jeonghan asked as they hurried back to their other members.

"Yeah," he replied sheepishly. "But I still don't remember the song list. Want to refresh my memory?"

"Aish, you're a pain," his friend grumbled. But he smiled nonetheless. Their leader was back.

And whether it was from the kiss or not, Seungcheol was on point all night. He never missed a beat, which was incredible after having been gone for so long.

It was almost like he didn't have anything to worry about it the first place. Which is exactly what you told him after the show.

He beamed, running his hand through his hair. "Maybe you're right. Or maybe you're just my good luck charm."

"I don't know," you said with a teasing smile. "You were doing fine before I came along."

He shook his head, suddenly serious. "I don't want to stop at fine anymore. I want to be good. Great. Amazing. I want to be better, for you."

"Cheol, you don't need to push yourself. You're perfect the way you are."

"But I can be better," he persisted.

You shrugged. "Everyone has room for improvement. Just don't go pushing yourself too hard."

"With you by my side, I know I won't."

It was your turn to kiss him. "I knew you were too good for me. How did I get so lucky to have you by my side?"

"I ask myself that every single day," he replied, giving you another kiss.

"Hey! We're still in here," Seungkwan exclaimed suddenly. The two of you broke apart to see the other members gawking at you, some pretending to vomit at your display of PDA.

"You can leave whenever you want," Seungcheol retorted as he put his arms back around you. You choked back a laugh as you heard more grumbling behind you.


	2. Jeonghan - Pretty U

It all started when you became an intern for Pledis. You worked hard as an assistant, manning the receptionist's desk, attending meetings, keeping track of the trainees and the idols and their schedules.

It was a lot to juggle, but you managed. And you started befriending some of the idols that you worked with at the same time.

Seventeen, in particular, loved you. You would come by during their late-night practices with words of encouragement or snacks to keep their energy up. They kept you constantly entertained whenever you saw them, whether it was through their new choreography, different hairstyles, or just them joking around like usual.

There was never a dull moment when you were around. But there was one among the members who didn't see this as a good thing.

He was constantly jealous that the others made you laugh just as well as he could. That you gave your attention equally. That you sought them all out together, never him individually.

Jeonghan was hopelessly infatuated with you. And he knew that you saw him a bit differently with his long hair and soft features - you thought he was pretty. But as far as he knew, that was as far as your interest in him went and that frustrated him.

He thought about asking you. He really did, but despite all his confidence, he was really shy around you. His tongue got caught in his throat when he tried to speak, and he usually just ended up laughing at whatever you said to try and ease the tension.

And then, the comeback happened.

You hadn't seen them outside of the practice room for a few days at this point. It was obvious that they were preparing hard for their new comeback. But still, you didn't expect Jeonghan's new look.

First, they cut his long hair short again and dyed it blond. That alone was a shock. You almost didn't recognize him at all.

And then they took it one step further and let him darken his hair again. Back to a chestnut brown while they started styling it differently, giving him shorter bangs again.

You were working the front desk trying to find your notepad for a meeting in the next few minutes when you heard someone walk up behind you. Obviously, it was an idol or a trainee. But it was obviously an idol. And more than that, you thought it was Joshua with his brown hair and how quiet and respectful he was being while you looked for something.

"Give me one second, Joshua."

After a moment, you turned around to see that it was Jeonghan instead. You nearly dropped your notepad in surprise.

"Y-your hair."

He smiled slightly. "Do I look like Joshua?"

"You look...good," you said, clearing your throat. "Did you need me for something?"

"Oh, right. The key for the practice room."

You gave him a look. "You guys were practicing a lot yesterday. Are you sure that you need to keep working?"

"I'm still having some trouble with one of the songs," he admitted softly. "I want to get it right."

"All right." You handed him the key and he took it, flashing you a large smile.

"Thanks, (Y/N)!"

Jeonghan could feel it after that moment. A shift in your relationship.

Before, he'd been shy and awkward around you. Now the roles seemed to have flipped and you were the one tongue-tied around him. Even after the initial shock wore off, you continued to treat him differently than the rest of his members.

And boy did he love that. But he couldn't seem to figure out why.

"You're not pretty anymore," Vernon commented.

Jeonghan turned to him in surprise.

"Your look is different, so (Y/N) probably sees you differently," he added with a shrug. "That's all it is, probably."

"So you're saying I'm handsome?"

Vernon shook his head. "You'd have to ask (Y/N)."

So the next time you stopped by the practice room, Jeonghan sat back and watched you.

You brought them little lunch boxes so that they could take a break before they went back to practicing. And Jeonghan watched how you spoke to his fellow members, treated them, and smiled at them. Trying to pick up on anything he could use to figure out how you felt about him.

But eventually he got tired of that and decided to just ask you.

"(Y/N)," he said as he came closer.

"Jeonghan," you replied. "Here's your lunch."

"Thank you for the food. Do you think I'm handsome?"

"Uh, what?"

"Do you think I'm handsome?" he repeated. "You can tell me, you won't upset the others."

"Of course you are."

He blinked. "Wha-really?" He hadn't expected you to say it that easily.

You shrugged. "You've always been pretty, Jeonghan. But this new look really suits you. It makes you look...handsome. Even though it's still you."

You had never seen a bigger smile on Jeonghan's face.

"I didn't think you'd agree."

"I didn't think you'd ask."

"Can I ask you something else, then?" he asked as he peered inside his lunchbox.

You nodded.

"Want to have lunch with me?"

You were suddenly very aware that all twelve of his fellow members were staring at you two. You pursed your lips.

"Not here, Jeonghan."

"Then we'll go somewhere else!" he proclaimed, grasping at your sleeve to pull you along behind them. "Be back soon," he called over his shoulder. The others yelled after the both of you but they were ignored.

Jeonghan dragged you around the building until he found a suitable location in the form of an empty recording room.

You sat down across from each other and he opened the lunchbox. You soon realized a problem he didn't - you didn't have anything to eat with.

But Jeonghan didn't seem to mind. He brought a bite of food up towards your mouth.

"Say 'ah'," he said, and you did as instructed. His smile only grew while he watched you eat.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

He shook his head. "No. I just think you're really pretty too."

And thirty minutes later when he finally returned, he was proud to gloat that you and he were going on a date soon.

"That's great," Hoshi commented. "How are those dance steps coming along?"

Jeonghan pouted. "You guys never let me have any fun."


	3. Joshua - Love Letter

Joshua had become more outgoing since his time with his fellow members. That much was obvious.

But when it came to romantic feelings, he was still shy and uncertain. He was afraid of embarrassing himself if his feelings weren't reciprocated. It takes a big person to put their feelings on the line like that.

And you were pretty similar. It was obvious to the other members at this point that the two of you liked each other, you just wouldn't say anything.

They teased you mercilessly about it, but you were both very stubborn and refused to admit it even though you both knew that they were right.

Joshua called you over to the dorm one day to hang out as you hadn't seen each other in a while and he wanted to show you a new song that he'd finally perfected on his guitar.

You weren't sure which one it was, but you were always a good audience for him. When he actually had the chance to play for you, that is. Usually the others would invite you to play with them or do something else instead.

But the poor guy had been having a fit lately making sure that the setlist for the upcoming tour was prepared and that the songs they'd chosen were the right ones. So obviously him taking some time off just to play and practice his guitar meant that he had a welcome distraction, and you were happy to keep that going.

You got there and it was pretty tame. Mingyu, The8, and Hoshi were playing games way too loud. Dino and Seungkwan were practicing their rapping skills while S. Coups and Wonwoo watched. Vernon and DK were chasing each other around while Jeonghan and Jun were competing to take the better selfie. Woozi was nowhere in sight so you figured he was probably doing some work or something in his room away from everyone else.

You realized that Joshua would usually be out in the main room to get you when you arrived. Instead, he was nowhere to be found. He must still be practicing.

The thought had barely crossed your mind before you heard the sound of strumming coming from Woozi's room.

The two of them must have been in there recording trying out an idea for a new song. You debated going back out into the main room, but you knew you'd get caught in one of the other member's games.

So instead you opened his door and walked in, only to see Joshua look up from his desk. You frowned slightly.

"I thought you were in Woozi's room," you explained.

He carefully tried to move his papers around. "No, he just wanted to borrow my guitar to practice." He cleared his throat. "I wasn't using it so I let him."

"Oh," you said, although that didn't quite track. He'd invited you here to hear him play, hadn't he? Had he forgotten already? It was possible - he could be a scatterbrain sometimes. "Well, what are you working on over there? New lyrics?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"Can I read it? Or is it a secret?"

Sometimes being Joshua's friend had fun perks involved. Those perks involved getting to hear the early stages of a song idea or lyrics before they were actually produced, and then seeing those come to fruition later.

It didn't happen often, but every now and then you did get lucky.

"S-sure," he muttered, skimming the papers to see which one he'd decide to share. Even after being friends for a while, he was always nervous to share his ideas with you. But you didn't mind, you knew it was part of the creative process.

He handed you a sheet with multiple lines written on it. He'd been working on it for a while, and it was obviously still a draft. He had parts scratched out and other words interchanged for his original ones in certain places, but it was sweet. A letter to someone to express how happy he was to have them around.

"Is this one of those thank-you letters?" you asked after a moment. The lines weren't exactly rhythmic, but they were full of gratitude and appreciation, like one of those thank-you or dedication letters they'd put in the albums for fans to read.

He nodded slowly, reading the words over your shoulder instead of meeting your gaze.

"Who's it for?"

"Hmm?" he asked, suddenly looking up at you.

"Is it for someone in particular?"

"What makes you say that?"

You shrugged. "The way you wrote it makes it seem like it's someone important to you. But you'd never write this much about the rest of the guys, so it must be someone else."

"It is, actually," he said. "It's about...you."

"Wait." You stared at the paper again. "If this is about me, then...this is a love letter. You actually wrote me a love letter?"

"I--"

" I can't believe this! You really are such a gentleman."

He chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "So I guess you like it?"

"I love it," you assured him as you wrapped your arms around him. "And I've loved you for a long time, too." He let out a large sigh.

"Good, because I couldn't figure out how to tell you in person. I was going to send this to you but I thought it'd be weird, and then you happened to walk in--"

"Happened to? You texted me to invite me over."

He shook his head. "I haven't been able to find my phone all morning."

You stared at the two boys with an eyebrow raised. "I know one of you has it."

Joshua stood a little bit behind you, arms folded too.

Jun sighed, handing the familiar phone over to you. "It was Jeonghan's idea."

"You didn't have to go through with it," Jeonghan countered.

"I don't care who did it, just don't do it anymore," Joshua told them both firmly.

"If you two would have said something ages ago, we wouldn't have to."

"Well, it's taken care of now, so--"

"Taken care of?" Jeonghan repeated.

"Are you two dating now?" Jun added.

You glanced at Joshua. He was doing his best to hold his firm posture but one look at you and he was grinning like an idiot.

"Finally!"

That night there was an impromptu celebration. Apparently the rest of the members shared that sentiment; it had taken you both way too long to admit. But better late than never.


	4. Jun - Shhh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soulmate AU where you and your soulmate are missing a sense or ability until you meet
> 
> Additional author's note that's just for fun: Jun's was the first idea I had for this series. And after I had the idea, my roommate and I got to see them on their first leg of their 2020 tour (which feels like it was years ago at the time of posting this on AO3).
> 
> But they are every bit as amazing live. And they performed Shhh and I felt my soul leave my body. (I also cried a LOT because I was so overwhelmed with emotions but it's fine. They're worth all the tears).

Not being able to speak definitely had its problems. You weren't born mute, but after a year your soulmate bond took effect and you were suddenly unable to cry. Your parents were worried at first but after hearing about one of the rarer soulmate pairings, it was obvious that was what was going on with you.

You'd learned sign language to cope, and everything else was working fine so you tried not to dwell on it too much.

Jun, meanwhile, was missing his sense of touch. Soft things, hot things, smooth or rough things, he wasn't able to feel any of it. He could still get hurt by things, he just wouldn't notice himself.

But aside from his other members warning him away from potential hazards (hot burners on the stove or running his hand too roughly against something like tree bark), he figured he could live with this for the time being.

Seventeen was once again on tour, traveling to numerous cities to try and meet as many fans as possible. If asked, Jun wouldn't have had any idea where they were. He slept a lot in between stops since he was never uncomfortable. Something some of the other members might have envied him for.

They had just stopped for the night somewhere new and Jun was itching to explore. He'd slept all day and he needed to get out for some fresh air. After persuading Minghao and a manager to follow along with him, they ended up wandering aimlessly until he found a mall nearby.

Since they were wearing their masks and keeping their heads down, they didn't expect anyone to recognize them. They actually managed to get some shopping done while they were there.

Jun was still full of energy while the other two members of his group had stepped back to take a breather. However, they were more than happy to watch Jun continue to enjoy himself.

In fact, Jun was starting to feel very nervous for some reason. It was like he was supposed to be doing something important and just couldn't remember what it was. He suddenly turned, intending to ask the manager to take them back because he must have forgotten something to cause this feeling when he collided with someone.

"I'm sorry," he muttered quickly, still trying to stay hidden behind his mask. You glanced up quickly and gave him an apologetic bow, continuing on your way.

Minghao raced over, asking if his friend was okay.

"I'm fine," he said.

"But...your arm," Minghao replied.

Jun glanced down and realized that he could feel a dull ache in his arm. He hadn't even noticed. He'd grabbed it on instinct and was currently holding it.

But if he could feel pain, then that meant you...

You were sitting in the food court when you heard thundering footsteps. You turned to see who was running like that only to see the boy from earlier.

He was panting heavily as he approached you, his mask pulled down to reveal his face. He studied you for a moment, trying to think of something to say now that he'd found you.

"Soulmate?" he asked quietly after a moment. You shook your head, signing to him that you had not found yours. He frowned slightly as he watched.

"Can you speak?" When you shook your head again, he smiled a little. "Could you try?"

It was your turn to frown at him, but you took a deep breath and opened your mouth. You tried a simple "hello" but after years without being used, your vocal cords were pretty worse for wear and it came out as a gravelly croak more than anything else.

You threw your hands over your mouth in surprise. You hadn't expected anything at all.

But if you could speak now, then that meant that he was...

Jun hesitantly reached out to you, jarring you from your thoughts. "I'm Jun."

The feeling of your hand clasped in his was indescribable. After years of not knowing what it felt like, he was sure he'd spend the next several days touching everything in sight. But the warmth of your hand in his own was more than enough right now.

You nodded in return, still wary about the sound coming from your throat and if he could even understand what you said. You hoped that wasn't what you'd always sound like. Jun seemed to sense your struggle and settled himself across from you.

"Don't force yourself if it hurts. Maybe you can just whisper for now." When you gave him a puzzled look, he chuckled. "You know, whisper. Like this," he added, demonstrating the quieter, breathy sound for you.

When you still seemed unsure, he gently took your hand in his again. "I'll hear it, trust me." That seemed to be the last bit of encouragement that you needed.

After clearing your throat and taking another deep breath, you tried.

"(Y/N)," you managed. Jun's eyes lit up and you smiled in return. It still wasn't great, but it was definitely a start.

"Nice to finally meet you."

The two of you talked about your bond. He seemed utterly fascinated by the idea of sign language and you realized very quickly what he'd been missing since he kept touching everything around him to figure out what it felt like. You only teased him a little about it.

At some point you glanced up and realized that he had friends waiting on him. One of them looked exhausted, so you gently suggested to Jun that they should go home. He pouted at the suggestion and you were quick to assure him it wasn't because you were bored, but that his friend looked dead on his feet.

From the way he sighed, it was obvious he knew it too but he hadn't wanted to leave just yet. Although it was hard for him to argue with the truth. So he reluctantly parted ways with you, making sure to give you his contact information to make sure that you'd stay in touch.

All the screaming and cheers at the concert the next night couldn't even compare to that first little whisper from you or the feeling of being able to touch you.

Jun smirked slightly when he realized that he was already hopelessly hooked on you.


	5. Hoshi - Run To You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soulmate AU where what you write/draw on your arms shows up on the other's arms for a certain amount of time

Hoshi loved the thought of soulmates, and the mystery of his own. Due to your bond, he could always communicate with you and he loved having that kind of connection with you.

But the two of you weren't allowed to share certain information. Your names, phone numbers, where you lived, and other similar information that would lead you straight to one another were blocked. You could write them but the ink would be smudged beyond recognition.

So you each took what you could get, drawing pictures or writing notes when you could. You tended to communicate more than your soulmate, who had asked that you call him Tiger since you couldn't find out his real name. With a name like that, you figured he must be into something flashy or important.

You'd just opted for your first initial. You were surprised that it had slipped through the ink of your bond, but there were apparently too many names with your initial for him to narrow it down. Which was both a relief and a disappointment to you.

The two of you spent years communicating with one another with no idea of when you'd meet. And it was obvious that it was starting to wear on each of you. You didn't even know your soulmate's name for crying out loud.

But as luck would have it, he'd given you something just as good. When a friend of yours started showing you Seventeen videos, you thought they were talented and funny. But then you stumbled across an interview where Hoshi was comparing himself to a tiger.

Just like your soulmate.

It was obviously a coincidence, you'd told yourself. Hoshi was one of your favorites, but there was no way. What were the odds?

And yet...the more you thought about it, the more it made sense. Parts of his messages were often blocked from you, like he'd let something slip about his identity. He never communicated with you regularly, it was always when he could. His general personality and the messages he'd sent you lined up very well together.

Hoshi was starting to get worried. You hadn't sent him anything in a while. He wondered if you were bored of him. He knew that a lot of his messages to you got blocked because he used other member's names or mentioned one of their songs and that was a giveaway.

But so much of his life revolved around those things. He couldn't help his schedule or his involvement with the company. Maybe you'd just given up on talking to him.

Later that night, Hoshi was so busy at the dance practice he hardly noticed the tingling feeling on his arm. They worked hard for a few more hours, only stopping to get a food break.

By the time they'd all gotten back to the dorm, he was so drained he couldn't remember if he'd imagined the feeling or not. But as he started getting ready for bed, he felt the familiar tingling again. He glanced down at his arm to see that you were slowly adding to your drawing from earlier.

It had just been a big blob before. But as he watched, you started adding in details to it. Thinning this part here. Adding attachments. Little lines to show that it was moving.

Something big. Something moving. He shook his head, trying to stay awake to see what you were drawing. It wasn't quite defined yet. But his eyes started to get heavy and he started drifting off to sleep. Before he knew what had happened, he'd passed out.

The next morning, Hoshi woke with a start, nearly hitting himself in the head in his excitement to see if the drawing was still there. His eyes widened and he started scrambling to get up.

Seungcheol happened to be walking by and glanced in the room.

"Hoshi?" he called. "What are you--?"

"Airport!" He screeched. "I need to get to the airport right now."

"Why? We're not going anywhere--"

Hoshi, having slipped on a clean shirt, thrust his arm at the older boy's face.

A drawing of an airplane.

His eyes widened. "Hoshi, you don't know which airport."

"Then I'll search every one until I find them!"

Seungcheol hadn't noticed, but the lines you'd originally drawn behind the airplane were smudged away like you'd tried to erase them. And that could mean your plane had already landed and you were in an airport waiting for him to figure out your message.

He couldn't wait around when you were out there somewhere. He threw himself out into the street, glancing around before remembering which way the nearest airport was.

You noticed a couple of people staring at you while you got your luggage. You wondered if your fashion choices had been too much, but you figured it was a dead giveaway if your soulmate saw you.

Hoshi was starting to realize he hadn't thought this through. He didn't know what flight you were on. He didn't know what you looked like. He didn't even know your full name. How was he supposed to....

A flash of orange caught his eye and he turned back to see someone walking through the airport with a mask and a hat similar to his. The only difference was that these were covered in bright orange stripes.

"Tiger!" Hoshi exclaimed before he could stop himself. Your head snapped up, turning toward the sound of his voice.

Before you even really got a good look at him, he tackled you in a hug. After a few moments, he let you go but he kept nervously bouncing around on the balls of his feet.

"You wore tiger stripes for me!" he exclaimed.

You chuckled softly. "You got here fast."

"I ran," he admitted.

"You...ran all the way here?"

He nodded. "I finally knew where you were close by and I didn't want to wait."

"But how did you know where to look?"

"Easy," he replied. "I just followed my heart."

Seungcheol would later tell you that Hoshi called him in a panic because he got lost on the way to the airport and had to turn around. It was sheer luck that that happened to be the one you landed in. But you liked his version better.


	6. Wonwoo - Lean On Me

You hated it when they left.

Every time they had to travel, Wonwoo would hole himself up at the studio for days at a time and you'd barely see him leading up to their departure. He would message you and send you pictures or videos to let you know that he was thinking about you, but it just wasn't the same as having him there with you.

Once they'd left, the video calling started. It was never the most exciting thing in the world. You two had created a tradition whenever he was gone for more than a week that you should video call every few days. Just to check in, see how the other was doing, etc. You usually did this late at night so that the other members were less likely to interrupt.

It helped that you did most of the talking during these calls. Wonwoo was almost always exhausted from the day's activities and he was normally quiet anyway. But lately, you noticed that he'd been even more so than usual.

He got like this sometimes when you'd call. But it had never happened this early on a tour before.

You knew that it wasn't exhaustion or boredom. His eyes were still alert, but he'd just stare at you or at something off the screen that you couldn't see. You could practically see the wheels turning in his head. He was thinking hard about something whenever he got like this.

"Wonwoo?"

A hum was all you got in response.

"You're quieter than usual. Everything okay?"

He nodded slowly. "Just thinking."

"I can tell," you replied with a smirk. "You've been listening to me talk for twenty minutes and you haven't said anything."

That made him smile a bit. "I like listening to you talk." You thought that might have broken the ice. That he'd open up and share something with you now.

Instead, that statement was followed by another thirty seconds of silence. He was staring at something again.

You cleared your throat. "I should probably get off soon. I have to be up early tomorrow."

"Oh, right." He nodded to himself. "Good night then."

"Night."

You'd barely gotten the word out before he'd hung up. You tried not to take that personally. You knew it didn't mean it that way; he could be kind of cold when he was thinking hard about something. And that was obviously the case here.

You repeated this cycle a few more times over the next several weeks. You were trying to give him an opportunity to bring it up on his own, but he obviously wasn't going to and it actually seemed to be getting worse somehow.

This time you were going to speak up. You gave him exactly five minutes into the call before saying something.

"You don't seem like yourself."

He adjusted his hair over his glasses. "Sorry. I have a lot on my mind."

"What are you always thinking about when I call you?"

"How much I miss you."

You waited, but he didn't add anything else.

"That's all?" you prompted him. He shrugged awkwardly and you smiled. "It's okay to miss someone, you know. You don't have to think so hard about it."

He sighed and shook his head. "I'm always thinking about you. That's why I've been trying to distance myself from you before we leave so that it doesn't hurt so much. But it just keeps getting worse and I thought if I brought it up, it would just make you sad."

"Why?"

"You didn't ask for me to be traveling all the time. You deserve someone who's actually there for you when you need them."

"Jeon Wonwoo!"

"It's true. Being away from you always makes me feel like I'm not doing enough."

You took a deep breath. "That's ridiculous."

"What?"

"You're thousands of miles away from me. You're in a different time zone and you still find time to send me pictures and videos. You still video chat with me even though you're exhausted every day. You're doing more than enough."

He averted his gaze. "But it's not the same."

"Do you think I don't miss you?"

"I--"

"Because I do. I miss your voice and your hugs and the way you smile at me. And I'm scared that something will happen to you and I won't be there to support you when you need me. I think about that every time you leave, but that doesn't mean I miss you any less."

"How do you get through it?"

"I think about how happy I'll be when you get back. I watch the videos you guys post of all the things you're doing and seeing. I don't deny that I miss you, I embrace it instead."

He smiled. "I miss you a lot."

"And that's okay. Just lean on me for support when you start to feel like that and everything will be fine."

"I'm so lucky to have you, (Y/N). I can't wait to get back."

"Don't say that, you have to meet all your fans first," you reminded him.

"I know. But you're my favorite fan."

You opened your mouth to say something but a yawn slipped out instead. Wonwoo smiled softly.

"It's getting late," he mumbled. "You should sleep."

"Wish you could sleep with me."

He chuckled. "Maybe you'll dream about me instead."

And after you got off the call with him, that's exactly what happened. You dreamt of Wonwoo and his return from the tour. You dreamt about the two of you visiting the arcade or staying in to relax together.

You woke up knowing that it was just a dream and Wonwoo wasn't back yet. But Wonwoo, now fast asleep due to the time difference was dreaming about his homecoming. He was dreaming about you and how happy you'd be to see him again.

He woke up in much higher spirits. Realizing that as long as he was keeping you in his thoughts, you weren't as far away as he believed. You were always with him, no matter where he went.

So he vowed to stop sulking about how much he missed you. He'd enjoy himself while he was away. And once the tour was over, he'd go rushing back to you with open arms. Ready to lean on you as much as you'd let him.


	7. Woozi - Pinwheel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soulmate AU where you meet your soulmate in your dreams. You don't remember meeting them in the dreams until you meet them in real life

When asked, Woozi would always credit his dreams as his inspiration for his song lyrics. He couldn't remember a lot of his actual dreams, but he did remember how they made him feel. He remembered how he felt when he woke up after them. He sometimes remembered the scenery surrounding them.

So for all intents and purposes, his dreams did inspire him. He just didn't know that you were the real inspiration because of your soulmate bond. In fact, Woozi typically denied having a soulmate bond because he wasn't aware of his connection. He couldn't remember it if he hadn't met you.

It wasn't like you remembered much more than him - you were lucky if you remembered anything at all when you woke up from your dreams. You just knew that the nights where you did dream made you feel content somehow, even though you couldn't remember them.

And that was the issue that came up constantly between the two of you. You remembered the dreams while you were in them, but you could never figure out any clues to lead you to one another. Once you were awake, you forgot everything that happened in the dreams.

You opened your eyes and looked around. Woozi was standing a few feet away, arms crossed as he frowned at nothing. You were in the same place as always, an open field with some trees and paths surrounding it.

"We forgot again," you said. Though it wasn't really necessary. It was obvious from his temperament. And you knew yours wasn't much better.

He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't get it. What if we never remember? How are we ever supposed to meet like this?"

"I don't know," you replied truthfully. "Your memories aren't getting any better?"

You knew from your first few meetings with him that he was more likely to remember than you. The bond on his end was stronger for some reason, so he could remember what was going on in the dreams even if he couldn't remember you.

You were stuck on just remembering him. So it was obvious that he would be able to find you more easily than the other way around.

But he shook his head.

"I remember feelings, that's about it. Sometimes I get a glimpse of what happened here but it's nothing that makes sense. Nothing that will give me a clue."

"You said that these dreams inspire your music, right?"

"Yeah, but not everything. Just a scene here or there."

You glanced around, trying to look for something that might be important enough to remember. As your eyes landed on a path nearby, you grabbed his hand and dragged him along behind you.

"I think I have an idea."

The next morning, he woke up feeling more inspired than he had in a long time. He remembered a fork in the road. A pinwheel stuck into the dirt. And a promise to wait there. To meet again.

It was amazing how well he could picture it. How well he could almost hear another voice saying the words to him.

You had never heard Seventeen's music. One of your cousins was a huge fan, so you thought tickets to their next tour would be a great gift.

Which obviously meant that you got to go along for the experience.

Just from chatting outside while you were waiting to get in the venue, you could tell that the fans were passionate. They were so kind and respectful even when you admitted you weren't a hardcore fan.

You knew some of the songs. You brushed up on the album before coming to the concert. But you didn't have a bias or anything like that. You vaguely knew that they were self-producing and their dancing was more in sync than any other K-pop group out there.

But then the concert started. And you fell in love.

They could sing. They could dance. They joked around with their fans. They gave 120% to every performance, whether it was a full group or a sub-group. You understood the others' dedication to them now.

At one point, the vocal team came out and performed Pinwheel. You had never heard the song before so it was kind of hard to follow along, but something about it felt so...familiar to you. Like it was calling to you.

"Are you okay?" your cousin suddenly asked. You glanced up only to realize your vision was blurry. You had tears streaming down your face from this one song.

You nodded, cheering loudly when the song was over.

The rest of the concert was a blur to you. You had managed to score good tickets, so you got to be behind the barricades for the send-off after the tour.

"You're not still crying over that song, are you?" your cousin teased.

"It was emotional, leave me alone."

"One of them was apparently inspired to write that by a dream he had."

"A dream?" you repeated. But anything else you were going to say was lost with the loud cheering of the fans still gathered.

The boys were on the move. You clapped and cheered for them as they passed until one caught your eye.

You recognized him instantly. Woozi was the closest thing you had to a bias. Something about him just drew you in.

"Woozi!" you exclaimed before you could stop yourself.

He turned at the sound of your voice and froze.

Mingyu was right behind him, nearly bumping into him. Woozi tore his gaze from you to get through the barricades.

You stared after him in confusion. He looked like he recognized you from somewhere. 

You were starting to make your way out of the building when a security guard approached you.

"Excuse me," he said. "Can I ask you two to come with me for a moment?"

"Is everything okay?"

"One of the members wanted me to come get you."

He escorted you and your cousin to something like a green room where the members were gathering their things. They looked up curiously when you arrived.

Woozi slowly approached you and extended his hand to you.

"Thank you for meeting me."

You warily extended your hand as well, shaking it firmly in his. When you glanced up you nearly gasped.

"Jihoon?" You could remember every dream. Every moment spent with him. Every detail of his face. Everything. It was like a fog suddenly lifted.

He smiled. "I was waiting for you, (Y/N)."

You couldn't even reply. There were no words to describe how you felt. So instead you hugged him tightly.

And for once, he allowed it.


	8. DK - Crazy In Love

When DK fell, he fell hard. He could fall for just about anyone if he was honest. He liked the thought of love and he wanted to experience it for himself.

He never shied from giving his attention or his affections to other people. It was part of his natural charm. He loved meeting new people.

And sure, most of the time his feelings weren't reciprocated. But he never took it to heart, choosing instead to refocus them on someone else who would hopefully reciprocate. Not everyone was built like him, ready to share their feelings at the drop of a hat.

You were one such person. You had been friends with Joshua and Seungkwan for a long time. You enjoyed hanging out with them and spent a lot of time with the rest of the group as a result. And since your friends were members of the vocal team, those members in particular got to spend a lot of time with you.

DK loved it when you came to visit. You always flashed him a bright smile when you saw him and gave him a big hug. You laughed at his jokes. You asked about his well-being and played games with him. He knew very early on that he was smitten with you, and would gladly do anything you asked - you'd even coaxed that cursed seal impression out of him a few times.

He was obviously concerned that you may already be dating Seungkwan or Joshua. But after some careful prying, they both denied it.

"I don't think I've ever seen (Y/N) date anyone," Seungkwan added. "I know there were some crushes in the past, but nothing ever happened."

This new information made DK even more cautious around you. What if you'd had your heart broken in the past? What if you didn't like him and were just being friendly to him?

But try as he might, he couldn't bear to keep his distance from you. Every time you were around, he found himself smiling so hard it hurt his jaw. He couldn't help it. There was just something about you. So he decided to just keep his feelings to himself this time.

Which became particularly hard one night when you were invited over to a game night and you all started playing truth or dare.

Mingyu danced on a table and nearly broke his leg in the process.

Jeonghan revealed that he was the one behind the great hot sauce prank that nearly gave S. Coups heartburn.

Woozi and Minghao switched clothes.

Hoshi admitted that he loved going on walks just to see if anyone would recognize him.

"(Y/N), truth or dare?" Hoshi asked.

"Truth," you replied.

"Would you ever date one of us?"

Your eyes flitted over the members before you nodded slowly. "Yeah. If he wants to."

"Which--?"

"Ah!" you interrupted him. "You only get one question, no cheating. Dino, truth or dare?"

As the youngest accepted a dare that involved him doing an impression of Seungkwan's over the top variety show acting, DK zoned out.

You thought you would date one of them?

Who?

You and Hoshi seemed close. Or maybe you'd like someone handsome like Mingyu. He actually had no idea what you looked for in a boyfriend. Why hadn't he asked Seungkwan the other day when he had the chance?

He felt a nudge in his side and glanced up to see Jun asking him.

"Truth," he replied. And then instantly regretted it.

"What are you thinking so hard about?"

"I...it doesn't matter."

"Thinking about who (Y/N) wants to date?" he pressed teasingly.

"Leave him alone, Jun," you spoke up. "He answered your question, didn't he?"

Jun simply shrugged, letting DK off the hook. But it was obvious to everyone in this room that there was something going on between the two of you.

It definitely was now as DK's ears started turning red while he moved the game along. They only did that when he was nervous or embarrassed.

The next round only made it worse. Realizing that the boys would simply ask you to pick one of them if you chose truth again, you chose dare.

"Show us your contact pictures for each of us," Mingyu demanded.

You scoffed. "No way."

"What's wrong? Got a secret?"

"My phone died."

"Then go charge it. We'll wait."

They were doing this on purpose. You'd had a feeling when they invited you over but it was obvious now.

"Fine," you replied. "DK, you mind letting me use your charger?"

He scrambled to his feet, following you out of the room.

"Sorry for the mess," he said as he handed you the charger. "And about them, they're being weird today."

You plugged in your phone. "It's not that surprising, actually. Seungkwan saw it last week."

"Saw what?"

"Your contact picture."

"Why--?"

But the words died in his throat as you turned your screen and he saw the picture. It was one of the two of you together, him behind you as he rested his head on your shoulder and his bright smile plastered on his face. He remembered taking that with you when you were just goofing around.

"I told him it was just a good picture but I don't think he bought that."

DK blinked. "Does that mean...you like me?"

You nodded, averting your gaze. "When I like someone, I really like them. I fall fast, so I try not to show my feelings a lot. I was going to tell you properly but--"

"I'm the same way!" he exclaimed. "Well, my feelings are easy to read, but I fall hard too. And I actually...like you too."

"You do?"

He nodded quickly, his infamous smile making an appearance.

You grinned back at him. "So, what should we do now?"

Jeonghan sighed as another minute passed. "This is taking too long. I told you it wouldn't work, Mingyu."

"Shh," Woozi hissed. "They're coming."

The two of you raced out of his room, hands grasped firmly together as he led the way. "Your plan worked and we're going to the arcade, bye!" he exclaimed as he ran out the front door.

"At least take jackets, it's cold outside!" Joshua exclaimed as he raced to the door. Your fading laughter was the only answer he received. He shook his head in disbelief.

You were both crazy. That was the only explanation.

"You were saying?" Mingyu said, grinning at Jeonghan. Seungkwan high-fived him, proud to take credit for this.


	9. Mingyu - Hello

Because there were thirteen members in the group along with the three managers that were going to be accompanying them on this flight, it was obvious that the seating wasn't going to even out.

It never completely worked out, but usually the member who didn't sit with the other members at least sat with the managers. But that just wasn't the case this time. One of them was going to have to sit with strangers.

The boys decided that the fairest way to decide who was going to end up with that seat was to use their favorite game: rock, paper, scissors.

After several ties, Mingyu eventually ended up as the loser of the game. The rest played a few more games to divide up where they'd be sitting before splitting up.

Mingyu wasn't sure what to expect sitting alone. It was true that Woozi, Dino, and DK would all be in the row in front of him, but he wouldn't be able to talk to them through the whole flight. He was essentially on his own.

They boarded as easily as they could, quickly stowing away their things and settling in. Mingyu sat in the middle seat and leaned back, trying to get comfortable. It wasn't long before he felt a presence nearby.

"Excuse me," you said. He quickly moved to make room for you to get past him to the window seat. You stowed a bag under your seat before giving him a soft smile.

"Hi, I'm Mingyu."

The introduction was so natural that you returned it with one of your own without even thinking twice. He smiled at you.

You heard furtive whispering from the seats in front of you and glanced up to meet eyes with Dino before he vanished behind the seat. You glanced at Mingyu in confusion. He only ran his hand through his hair nervously.

"My friend Dino," he explained.

"Does he want to sit with you? Because I'd gladly switch with him if--"

"You would?"

You shrugged. "It's just a seat. If he's your friend, you could sit together." But Mingyu was already shaking his head.

"It's okay. He has other friends."

This time when your eyes met with a boy in front of you, it was DK. He gave you a sheepish grin before lowering himself back down out of your eyesight.

"How many people do you know on this plane?"

He chuckled. "A lot."

So the two of you remained seatmates for the entire flight. The person on the other side of Mingyu never arrived, so it was just the two of you for most of it. You got snacks and made small talk together. When you were allowed to roam about, a few of his other friends came by to chat with him and make sure he was doing well.

Not too long after, another boy from the row in front of you plopped in the empty seat and exchanged a few hushed words with Mingyu before falling asleep.

"He says the others are too loud. He wants to sleep," Mingyu explained to you. You nodded your understanding.

"So no movie then?" you joked. Mingyu chuckled.

After a few moments, he did offer you one of his earbuds so that you could listen to music with him. You graciously accepted it, not having had the forward-thinking to bring anything to occupy your time on this flight.

You had actually just planned to sleep most of the way, but with Mingyu sitting next to you, you doubted that was going to be an option. He was immensely entertaining all by himself.

At some point, you started looking for the flight attendant again. You wanted more snacks. Yours had run out ages ago and you felt like you needed something more to tide you over.

"Hey, you hungry?"

Mingyu waved his hand in front of your face while also was holding out a bag of peanuts to you. You quickly shook your head.

"Those are yours, I'll get some more."

"Then at least share with me."

When you glanced at him this time, he was pouting slightly, shaking the bag at you to try and tempt you to agree.

"Fine," you sigh. "But we're sharing them. You'd better eat some too."

He grinned in satisfaction, tearing open the bag to offer you some of them.

"Hey, Mingyu," you hissed. "Look!"

The tall boy snapped his head up as you shook his shoulder. He glanced around before realizing that you were staring out the window at the sunset. A beautiful sunset bathing the fluffy clouds in bright orange and pink streaks.

You turned to comment on the sight when you realized that he was peering over your shoulder. When you turned around, you came almost nose to nose with him.

He smiled. "Hi."

"Hi," you replied with a laugh. "You weren't asleep, were you?"

He shook his head. "Not yet."

"Well, don't let me stop you. I'll wake you up if something happens." He nodded, barely containing a yawn.

A couple of hours later, Mingyu felt you shaking his shoulder again.

"Mingyu, we're going to land soon."

He blinked awake, glancing around at his surroundings. Woozi had long since gone back to his seat. You were packing away some of your things in your carry on. Mingyu stretched, moving to clean up some of his own stuff.

You landed very soon after that. It was a mess trying to get through the gate and grab your suitcase from the terminal. You set it on the ground and started rolling it when you heard a voice behind you.

"Hey, (Y/N)! Wait a second."

You turned to see Mingyu racing towards you. He sighed when he got close, looking incredibly lost all of a sudden.

"Hi, Mingyu. What is it?"

"I..." he hesitated. "Wanted to thank you. I had a great time flying with you."

You smiled. "So did I."

"So, can I...get your phone number?" He shuffled his weight around and you realized that his friends were hanging out several feet away. You figured one of them had put him up to this.

You held out your hand and he quickly fumbled with his phone, handing it over to you. You added a new contact in it before handing it back. He thanked you, bowing slightly as he made his way back to his friends.

Before you even got out of the airport, your phone had already buzzed with a new notification.

"Hello! It's Mingyu! :)"

You grinned before typing out a reply. Funny to think how different the flight would have been if he hadn't said hello to you in the first place.


	10. The8 - Network Love

Minghao knew that he was lucky. He loved his work as an idol and working hard with the other members to give the best performances for the fans.

When he first came to Korea, he started up the habit of vlogging and making dance covers. These videos started out as things he'd send to his family and friends back home to let them know how he was doing. To let them see how much he was growing with his friends and sometimes as an artist.

After a while, he did start posting them to social media to share with his fans. He wasn't the only one since other members of the performance team often posted their own covers as well. But the reaction seemed to touch him more. He felt less homesick when he saw the outpour of love from fans.

One of his favorite ways to do that was to find covers of dances that he'd participated in. My I and Highlight were two of his favorites to search for just to see what was being done with them. And on one of his days off, he happened to come across a Highlight cover that caught his attention.

"Our cover is getting a lot of views," your friend told you.

"I know! I thought it wouldn't since the song's older."

He shrugged. "I guess everyone just likes Seventeen too much. And our talent definitely helps."

"Your talent, maybe," you countered. "I'm still probably the weakest dancer in the group."

"Hey, come on. You killed it in this video! And I've got the comments to prove it."

He quickly showed you his phone where he was scrolling through several positive comments on the video.

You recognized some of them as mutual friends' accounts and chuckled. You even had a couple of direct messages on the shared account for your group, so you skimmed them too.

Meanwhile, Seventeen was hosting a Vlive. Jun was going around with his camera talking to different members about what they were up to and if they had a message for any of the fans.

He happened upon The8 who was watching a video. Jun snuck over and glanced over his shoulder.

"What are we watching?" he asked suddenly. The8 glanced up.

"A dance cover of Highlight. Fan covers always inspire me so I watch them when I can," he added, moving the screen so it was easier to see. "They took out my jump, but they did a great job adding their own choreo."

You didn't notice it at first. A couple dozen additional views. And that turned into hundreds. You definitely noticed when it finally started reaching into the thousands.

"What's happening with our video?" you wondered aloud.

All the comments were posting about the changed choreography. But how would they know that if they hadn't seen the video before this? And why were so many of them watching it all of a sudden?

But one comment popped out at you: The8 was right! They did a great job changing the choreo to fit!

The8?

As in Seventeen's The8? He talked about your video?!

You heard your phone buzz and glanced over. One of your friends had sent you a link to the very video you were looking for: Jun's recent Vlive.

He told you to skip to when The8 was onscreen, and you did. And immediately froze.

There you were, watching you and your friends dance to your cover. The8 saw your cover. The8 actually saw your cover. And thought you were good!

"Minghao, there's a message for you on our Twitter," one of the managers reported. The8 glanced up.

How did they know it was for him?

But the message was indeed addressed to him on behalf of your group that had performed the video. You told him how grateful you were he'd shared your performance on the Vlive and how Seventeen's fans had already found the video and had been nothing but kind to you ever since.

And because he was curious, he took a look at your Twitter profile and did some digging before replying to your message.

The Twitter notification pane popped up to let you know that you'd received a message. You quickly unlocked your phone and went to look.

I'm glad to hear that. We love supporting our fans in what they're doing. I'm kind of disappointed you didn't go for the jump, but it was really good otherwise.

You quickly typed out a reply.

I'm actually the least experienced of us, so we thought it was better to change it to something else. And I didn't have time to learn it during our practices.

He scoffed.

No one starts off as a professional. I could teach it to you.

You stared at the screen with narrowed eyes.

There was no way he was serious.

But, it turns out he was. About a week later, he started video chatting with you during his off-time to teach you the correct way to perform his jump safely. And even though you weren't able to practice it fully, you slowly gained more confidence until you figured you could probably do this right.

You could perform the movements if nothing else. And that was a good step in the right direction.

"See?" he said. "You just need more confidence in your abilities."

"Easy for you to say, breakdancer."

"Breakdancing isn't that hard either," he retorted.

"What, you think you could teach me that too?"

He grinned. "Absolutely. But that would need to be an in-person session."

"In-person?" you repeated. He nodded.

"For safety. If that's okay with you."

"Sure. That's fine."

"It's a date then. Next time I'm heading your way, I'll let you know."

And within the next couple of months, that's exactly what happened. The8 was a man who kept his promises but it was still a bit of a shock when he showed up on your doorstep. It was even more of a shock that fans didn't show up hot on his trail.

You didn't learn any breakdancing. But he did teach you some of his other (easier) dances. And you had to admit that learning from him was a lot easier when he was there in person, which is exactly what you told him.

"Does that mean I can keep seeing you?" he asked.

"When you have the time, absolutely."

"Even if I can't be here, I'll find another way."

You beamed. "I'm looking forward to it."

And that was how you started your relationship with The8. The world was so big, it almost seemed like a miracle you could communicate at all. But the two of you had the Internet on your side, and that would surely make it easier.


	11. Seungkwan - Come To Me

Seungkwan could tell you were lying to him.

It hadn't been completely obvious to him at first. He'd had a promotion schedule in the last month, so he hadn't had a lot of time to spend with you recently.

After he got back to his regular schedule, he bounced back by trying to hang out with you as much as possible. But all of his efforts had only brought you together once so far despite his numerous attempts.

You just seemed too busy. You spent a lot of time at work or out with your own friends. Not that he'd ever fault you for that. He liked that about you. But it was still hard for him and he missed seeing you, so he decided to surprise you at work.

He texted you earlier in the day to make sure that you'd be on shift. You worked at a restaurant nearby which gave him a perfect excuse to pretend to bump into you.

Usually, even if he couldn't see you he could hear you calling out to your coworkers when you bustled around. He didn't hear you or see you anywhere. He gave it a good twenty minutes before finally flagging down a waitress to ask.

"Is (Y/N) on break?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," she said. "(Y/N) isn't working today."

Seungkwan smiled slightly. "I see. Thank you."

"If you tell me your name, I'll let (Y/N) know you stopped by," the girl offered. He shook his head as he stood up to leave.

"No, that's all right."

You'd lied to him. Were all the other excuses just lies too? Were you stringing him along until you finally got bored of him?

No...no, that wasn't like you. There must be a reason you were lying to him.

He talked to your friends first. They told him that when they had hung out with you lately, but you never stayed too long. While you were around, you were lost in thought and often found a reason to leave early. They figured that you had been sneaking off to see Seungkwan, but that obviously wasn't the case.

So he made his way over to your place. But you weren't there.

He tried calling you and you wouldn't answer. Something was definitely wrong.

And you weren't talking to him about it, which wasn't a good sign.

You sighed heavily as you shut the door, just wanting to sleep for two days. You flopped on the couch and checked your phone to see three missed calls from Seungkwan.

"That's weird," you mused. Usually, Seungkwan sent a lot of pictures, memes, and other texts whenever he felt like it to keep you entertained. He didn't usually call at all.

So missed calls followed by radio silence was not a good sign. You quickly hit redial.

He picked up after a few rings.

"Hey, sorry I missed your call," you said.

"It's okay. Can you come over?"

"Right now? It's late, Seungkwan."

"Then I'll come to you."

"But--"

"Please? I just want to see you," he mumbled.

"Okay. Come on over."

Within twenty minutes, Seungkwan was knocking on your door, his mouth set in a firm line.

"Seungkwan? What's going on?"

"I wanted to do this face to face," he replied as he made his way into your apartment.

"Do what?"

He took a deep breath. "You're breaking up with me, right?"

"Seungkwan--"

"It's okay. This was bound to happen. I'm never around, I can't support you the way you need. I should have seen it coming, honestly." He ran his hand through his hair. "I can't believe I thought everything was fine."

"Everything is fine!" you exclaimed. "What's gotten into you?"

"You've been lying to me! And that means there's a problem here, and the problem is obviously me."

"Seungkwan, you're not the problem." You sighed. "You're dramatic as hell, but there's nothing wrong with our relationship. I've just been working a lot lately--"

"I went by your work today and you weren't even there!"

You glared at him. "Let me finish, please! They've started taking away my shifts at work and I needed something else to make ends meet. So I found a regular 8-5 that I'm training for and then I'm still working at the restaurant at night when they need me. When everything settles, it should be fine. But right now it's a lot of pressure and stress, and I didn't want to put that on you and make you worry."

He processed this information for a few seconds.

"So you're not breaking up with me?"

"No."

"You just needed money?"

"Yeah."

"(Y/N)! If that was the problem, why didn't you come to me? I could have helped you."

You gave him a small smile. "I know you could have. But I didn't want to rely on you to fix my problems, I wanted to fix them myself."

"You still could have told me," he grumbled as he crossed his arms. "Had me worried over nothing."

"I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

"Only if you promise to be honest with me from now on. And come to me with your problems. That's what I'm here for, after all."

"I promise. Thank you for understanding."

"Great!" He planted himself on your couch. "So tell me about this new job! Where is it? What kind of work are you doing? Is everyone nice to you? They'd better be, or I'll make a complaint--"

You gently grasped his hand. "Seungkwan, I promise to tell you all about the job another day. It's really late and I need sleep."

"Fine. But if I leave right now, we're actually going on a date this weekend. My treat, no backing out later."

"See? How could I break up with you when you're this romantic?" you teased.

He narrowed his eyes. "If you'd quit working so hard, maybe you'd realize that you have an amazing boyfriend. And for your information, he was going to get you flowers but now he's not so sure."

You chuckled as you hauled him to his feet. "I don't need flowers as long as I've got you. I promise I will make time for a date. I think I owe you that much." You gave him a soft peck on the cheek on the way out.

He quickly turned his face so he could give you a kiss on your own cheek. "I'm proud of you. Work hard tomorrow."

Despite him being so dramatic, Seungkwan was always supportive of you. And he made sure to encourage you to do your best in your new job and take care of yourself at the same time.

And you made sure to come to him with your problems now and then so that he could relieve you of that stress. It was a nice balancing act that you wanted to work on together.


	12. Vernon - Rocket

It had started with a picnic outside his dorm. Something simple and low-key since you were both burnt out from your hectic week. The two of you preferred this kind of setting anyway, as it was casual but still secluded enough that he wouldn't be bombarded by fans. The worst you two had to worry about out here was Hoshi or Seungkwan making a fuss.

It was relaxing, just talking and eating with him after not seeing him for so long. Once the two of you were full of your favorite foods, you laid back and stared up at the stars together. You pointed out a few constellations that you could make out, but eventually just settled into a comfortable silence.

It was peaceful and serene. You'd been talking for a long time, catching up on what the other had been doing but now you were content to just relax together.

Vernon shifted slightly, moving to prop his head up on his arm for support.

"Do you ever think about what's out there?" he asked.

You glanced at him before staring back up at the sky. Vernon had been like this for as long as you'd known him. He had his own train of thought. Some people thought it was kind of off-putting because you never knew for sure what he was thinking about.

But it was one of the things you loved about him. He kept you on your toes as you never knew what to expect with him. He was still full of surprises, even now.

"You mean like other species?" you asked after a moment. He nodded slowly. The stars glittered at you across their black background, mesmerizing you with their apparent dance.

"There must be something," you said after a moment. "There are so many planets and places we haven't explored out there. We can't be the only things in the universe."

He beamed. "That's how I feel. Sometimes I want to build my own rocket and fly up there, you know? Fly around, weightless. Just the stars to guide me. See where the adventure takes me and what I can find out there."

"You're going to build a rocket?"

"That's right." He turned on his side to face you. "And I'll make sure there's plenty of room for you to come along."

You laughed. "I get to come on your adventure, huh?"

"Of course. I'm not leaving you down here while I go have an adventure without you! Besides," he chuckled softly, "I'd get bored up there all by myself. I need someone to talk to and keep me company while we explore the mysteries of the universe."

"Vernon, outer space is really big. Don't you think you'll get bored?"

He shook his head. "I think there's enough up there. Planets, stars, black holes, meteor showers, and asteroids. And when we run out of things to see, we'll just play games and dance together to entertain ourselves."

"In that case, count me in. What's our first stop going to be?" you asked, deciding to humor him on this tangent of his.

"The Milky Way," he said matter of factly as he turned onto his back once more. "I bet it's beautiful in person. And it's just out there, waiting for someone to go find it."

You squeezed his hand in yours. "Maybe one day we'll have that technology and you'll see it for yourself."

"I hope so."

He fell silent once more, playing with your fingers and studying the stars like they were some kind of map to the secrets he wanted to uncover.

"You would come with me, right? If I had a rocket?"

His sudden question startled you. Partially because it broke the silence around you, but more so the fact that he thought you wouldn't go with him. That you'd turn down this hypothetic adventure even if it meant having some incredible experiences with him.

You glanced at him. "You know that I'd go anywhere with you. Rocket or not."

"Anywhere?" he repeated. You nodded. "One day I'll take you up on that."

With that answered, the two of you settled into another comfortable silence, just staring up at the stars once more. You failed to notice the pink blush on his cheeks at that moment.

Eventually, you two did head back inside the dorm hand in hand. You packed away the things you'd taken for the picnic and he walked you out so that you could get to your car safely.

He smiled softly, wondering what it would be like if you two really did build a rocket and jet off to the stars together. You didn't even question him when he brought it up. You were used to his strange interjections by this stage in your relationship.

And he wouldn't want to go explore anything as unpredictable as space with someone who didn't understand him. But here on earth, he realized that your understanding of him showed how much you truly cared about him and respected him as another person.

He'd meant to tell you something else. To whisper the three words that he'd been dying to tell you for weeks now. But he was still working on how to say them out loud because he wasn't sure you'd reciprocate.

Still, for you to agree with so little hesitation that you would follow where he led...that had to mean something.

"Hey, (Y/N)," he said suddenly.

You froze, halfway through stepping into your car. "What?"

He bit his lip, eyes hesitantly meeting yours. "I just want to say that...I love you. More than the stars and the moon and the whole night sky."

"I'd hope so. I mean, you can't ride in a rocket with just anyone." You leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "I love you too."

There was no force on earth that could have held back the giant grin on his face at that moment. But he did reluctantly admit you should get on home. 

He watched you drive away before staring up at the night sky with a soft smile. He took a quick glance around to make sure no one was around before patting himself on the back for finally telling you how he felt.


	13. Dino - Lucky

It was never easy for Dino to take time off from work. Since he was the youngest, he often felt like he had more to prove and would work harder and longer than the other members on things even when he didn't need to.

Even on free days he would usually go to the practice room and work on his own routines. He loved perfecting choreography more than almost anything else, and that really showed. So an actual day off for him was incredibly rare.

But today was one of those days. They didn't have any new choreography they needed to perfect. Woozi was working on new music but it was still in the early stages and wouldn't be ready for a few more days at least. And Hoshi had gone ahead and reserved the practice room to work on something already.

Most of the members were scattered around doing various things and he plopped himself on the couch thinking of what he'd like to do with this time off. Mingyu had already taken the car out with some of the other members (Jeonghan, Wonwoo, and Joshua) to go buy groceries, so he couldn't really go anywhere.

Around the fourth time of him sighing, The8 finally glanced up from the book he was reading in the corner.

"Why don't you go on a walk?" he suggested.

"A walk where?" Dino countered. He wasn't much for walking around aimlessly, but The8 only shrugged in response.

"Wherever you want to. Go shopping, go walk around the park. See a movie."

Dino reluctantly got up from his spot on the couch and grabbed a coat. If nothing else, it would be less boring than staying cooped up all day. He thought about inviting someone else to come but they all seemed pretty busy with their own things.

So he walked outside, picked a direction, and started off. He ended up at a clothing store and grabbed a new hat that he wanted. He wandered around the park but didn't stay long.

He did also stop by the movie theater but there wasn't anything playing that he wanted to see. With a sigh, he quickly kept walking. He passed by a cafe and thought about stopping there but he'd just be goofing off in there. He wasn't hungry enough for anything right now.

When he was passing by an arcade, he figured he could stop in there and play a couple of games. He won a few rounds on a racing game and then did pretty well at DDR. He left in higher spirits but still bored.

He rounded a corner a little too quickly and barely had time to stop before he came nose to nose with you as you came out of a store.

You'd been putting something in the shopping bag and dropped your phone when he came out of nowhere. You both stooped to grab it, him mumbling a quick apology.

"It's okay," you assured him.

"It's not broken?"

You chuckled. "No, no. It's been through a lot worse, trust me."

He smiled and nodded, grabbing his bag once again as he stood up. You did the same, moving past him on your way.

He walked around several more areas before finally getting tired and turning back towards the dorm. As he was walking, he realized what a nice day it was for a walk. Maybe The8 had been on to something with this idea.

And not only that, but it was a pretty relaxed day. There weren't a lot of people out and about like usual. It was a crazy coincidence that he'd almost run into you when he did. He hoped that your phone was actually okay. He would have offered to replace it if it was cracked.

He stopped to sit on a bench and tie his shoe. He wondered if you were like him - just looking for something to do today. Maybe you'd bought a shirt like him.

Wait.

He glanced at the bag sitting beside him to see that there was a shirt inside. Not his hat that he'd bought earlier. Which meant that you must have switched with him earlier -- you had his bag and he'd left his card and everything in it.

Dino sprang to his feet, rushing back to the spot where he'd run into you, hoping against hope that you might be there.

You were nowhere to be found. He quickly ducked into the shop to think. The cashier glanced at him curiously and he approached, asking about the person that had bought this shirt earlier. She informed him that while she wasn't allowed to give customer information, she could try giving you a call and letting you know that he was here to return his stuff.

He nodded quickly, stepping away as he felt his own phone vibrate. It was Seungcheol, who asked where he was. Dino carefully explained that he'd gone on a walk and was on the way home, omitting the part where he'd possibly lost his card and personal information with it. The leader told him that they were cooking so he should try to be home soon. He agreed before ending the call.

"Sir?" the cashier called him. "You won't believe this."

Dino raced for the clothing shop where he'd bought his hat. Once again, he was in such a rush that he didn't notice you until you were right in front of him.

"Hi again," he panted.

"Hi. Sorry, the store must have had a different number for you." You held out the bag. "I figured you needed this back."

"Yes, thank you so much." He traded with you, quickly opening it to see everything in there. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Can you do me a favor?"

When he got home, Seungcheol and Jeonghan were waiting impatiently for him.

"You lost your card?" Jeonghan demanded.

"You're lucky the store called or we wouldn't have known," Seungcheol added.

"No, no! I have it. I found it," Dino insisted, producing it for them to see.

"And where was it?"

He glanced between them. "It was...with a friend. We met up and switched shopping bags by accident."

"Uh huh, and what's this friend's name?"

"(Y/N)," Dino replied with no hesitation.

"Then why did the store call here instead of (Y/N) calling you?"

He sighed. "We only have email addresses. It was easier to try to find me through the store since it was so important."

"Fair enough," Seungcheol said after a few moments. "Go wash up and then we'll eat."

Dino nodded quickly, heading to his room where he breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at his phone to see a new message from you.

_"Did they buy it?"_

He grinned. _"Yes. I owe you one, (Y/N)!"_ He paused before sending another message: _"We should hang out again sometime."_

You beamed at the message as you read it. When he told you his friends would flip out over him losing that card, you'd worked out a story to keep him out of trouble. And it seemed that you'd made a new friend to boot.

Maybe today was your lucky day.


	14. 24 Hours - DK (Afternoon)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part of a unit focused series that I've wanted to work on for a few months. I decided to start with the vocal team and 24H. And since the new year is fast approaching, I thought it'd be fun to do a full 24-hour cycle with different members. First up is DK, hope you enjoy!

As soon as you opened the door, a large burst of confetti and a loud popping sound greeted you.

"Happy New Year!" Hoshi exclaimed.

"Hoshi!" Seungcheol scolded. "Stop greeting everyone like that."

"But it's so fun...."

"Wow, the place looks great," you commented. The guys had invited you over for a New Year's party and it was obvious they'd been decorating all day for it. Streamers and a large banner were already strung up everywhere.

You watched Seungcheol take the pack of poppers from Hoshi and chuck them into the closet along with several other identical packs. You could make out some sparklers and other small fireworks in there too.

Hoshi reluctantly brought over the broom and started sweeping up the confetti pieces. At least he was cleaning up after himself.

"Thanks. Food and drinks are in the kitchen so help yourself," Seungcheol told you. "Most of the guys are outside still setting up if you want to go take a look."

You figured that you might as well see what they were up to, so you let yourself out into the yard. Jeonghan, DK, and Dino were currently setting up a large paper mache ball on a stick. Dino was standing on a ladder to set it up properly while the other two steadied the ladder.

"What are you doing?" you asked.

"It's our own pinata!" Dino explained with a grin.

Jeonghan smirked. "We figured we could watch the ball drop, or we could beat it up and let out some frustration."

"Uh huh. And whose idea was that?" 

He shrugged nonchalantly, although you were sure that it was at least partially his idea. Maybe Woozi's as well.

"Hoshi must have caught you at the door," DK said as he brushed some confetti from your shoulder. "He's been doing that all day."

You smiled. "I'm surprised you weren't joining him."

It was no surprise that DK loved parties. He and Hoshi thoroughly enjoyed any excuse to get together with others and have a good time. And especially with the way things had been going all year, this was a great reason to do just that.

"I wanted to help set up. Make sure everything was perfect before you got here."

"DK, whose baby are you?" Jeonghan pouted.

You rolled your eyes. "Sorry, Jeonghan. Guess you have to learn to share."

"Hey, some of the guys are playing foot volleyball. Do you want to go watch?"

"Sure."

So the two of you ditched Jeonghan and Dino to go watch several other members playing an enthusiastic round of foot volleyball. DK settled his head on your shoulder for a few minutes.

Which turned out to be a bad idea when a sudden foul ball flew towards you and you ended up headbutting each other. 

"Are you okay?" he choked out, barely holding back his laughter at the accident.

You sighed, rubbing your head. "I'm fine. I just hope we don't make a habit of this in the new year."

The two of you spent the afternoon wandering around together, helping out with the preparations, and having a good time. Despite your minor injuries, you couldn't think of any other way you wanted to spend the last day of the year.

It was sure to be loud and chaotic later, but right now just spending your time with Dokyeom was more than enough.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part of a unit focused series that I've wanted to work on for a few months. I decided to start with the vocal team and 24H. And since the new year is fast approaching, I thought it'd be fun to do a full 24-hour cycle with different members. Second in the cycle is Joshua!

The sun had just gone down over the horizon.

The boys had gathered around in a big makeshift circle to eat and talk. Joshua had even brought out his guitar and started strumming it for some ambience.

One of the others, you weren't sure who, had made a makeshift fire pit. A few of the guys were taking turns trying to light the flames.

You sat down next to Joshua and listened to the soothing melody while they worked.

"So, any big plans for the new year?" Joshua asked after a few moments.

"I had a lot of plans last year that didn't go anywhere so...I'm trying not to jinx it."

He smiled softly. "We have a group plan, you know. Make every day count. You could start there."

The fire suddenly started growing. Jun stepped back in triumph.

Joshua carefully set his guitar off to the side so the heat wouldn't affect it. And then proceeded to steal food off your plate.

You smacked his hand away. "Hey! Get your own."

"But Mingyu put the food so far away. Please share with me?" He pouted with his big puppy eyes.

"You could make today count and go get your own," you replied as you took your food out of his reach.

He made a big show of sighing and getting up to go trudge his way towards the food. You laughed to yourself. And Seungkwan was the dramatic one.

It was a cool night, not too hot or cold. The fire certainly helped make it feel more welcoming.

When he was done eating, Joshua scooted his chair closer to yours and wrapped an arm around your shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"Making today count because I don't get to hold you often."

"Get a room!" Jun called from the other side of the fire.

"You can hold The8 if you're jealous!" You replied. The others laughed. Jun merely shrugged and went back to his conversation.

Pretty soon, it was decided that you should go around the circle and talk about what you wanted from the new year.

You said that you wanted to go to concerts and restaurants again but that was pretty much it.

Joshua stood up for his turn and smiled.

"This year has been hard," he admitted. "But I look around this fire, at everyone gathered here, and I realize I don't need anything else. As long as we can continue to get together like this, that's all that matters to me. Even if we still can't see our fans in person, we can inspire them through our actions together. And that's all I need. Here's to the new year!"

"That was beautiful," you whispered as he sat back down.

"It's true. My resolution is to keep my loved ones close. As long as I do that, I'm ready for whatever else comes our way."


	16. 24 Hours - Woozi (Midnight)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part of a unit focused series that I've wanted to work on for a few months. I decided to start with the vocal team and 24H. And since the new year is fast approaching, I thought it'd be fun to do a full 24-hour cycle with different members. And of course, I wanted the leader to get midnight!

The sky was dark, stars twinkling overhead. Lively conversation permeated the air, never lagging or wavering. 

Woozi had decided to go take a walk several minutes ago, but he could make out his other member's voices even from this distance. Mostly their laughter. The party had been a spur of the moment decision, but it was obviously one that they needed.

The last time they'd stayed up so late together was for an album release. It felt strange to do it for something so...normal.

Even with the current state of things, they'd been working as hard as ever. Some might even say they were pushing themselves too far. He wasn't sure which category he fell into. The group always pushed themselves to do better, be greater, achieve bigger. This year wasn't all that different in his opinion.

He wasn't sure what the next year held for each of them either. But he doubted much would change.

All he wanted was a little quiet before the storm. Everyone would be up for hours, screaming and playing games. So he left them to their own devices and found a shady tree to settle under for a few minutes.

He woke up to someone shaking his shoulder. He blearily opened his eyes and looked up at you.

"Hey, you awake in there?"

Everything immediately flooded back to him. "What time is it? Did I miss it?"

"They're about to start counting."

He stood up and shivered. It had gotten colder when he fell asleep. You offered him the jacket he'd left on his chair when he went for his walk. He eagerly slipped it back on and raced back towards the others.

"Hey, there he is!" Mingyu exclaimed.

"How long do we have?"

His question was answered when The8 suddenly started counting down from 60. He had made it back with one minute to spare.

Someone handed him a shot.

They all shouted along with The8 (who had been the only one to think to bring a watch) to count down to the last second of the year. And when they got to the new year, they all toasted and drank to it.

He squeezed your hand as you finished your own drink.

It was true that he didn't know what the future held. But some things never changed. They'd keep working hard regardless of the situation. And this time next year, he was sure that they'd all be right back here again to do the same thing.

A lot of their time in between would be spent doing the same things - working, writing, practicing, performing, and so on. But this minute right here, was all about remembering that hard work from the past year.

And that was definitely worth celebrating.


	17. 24 Hours - Seungkwan (Twilight)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part of a unit focused series that I've wanted to work on for a few months. I decided to start with the vocal team and 24H. And since the new year is fast approaching, I thought it'd be fun to do a full 24-hour cycle with different members. Seungkwan gets the fourth installment!

Seungkwan was fading fast. He had been fighting sleep for a few hours already, but now that it was past midnight it seemed to be rapidly catching up to him.

"You can just go to sleep," you whispered to him.

"No! I'm not going to be the first one again."

Apparently, Seungkwan had been the first to fall asleep during the last few "up all night" parties that the group had hosted. Since he prided himself on his health, you figured that added up. But he was determined that this time was going to be different.

You didn't really see what the big deal was, but the guys loved to tease each other relentlessly about everything. Seungkwan was probably trying to divert that attention onto a different member. And all he had to do was stay up longer than one other person.

Vernon was getting tired, and so was Seungcheol. He'd just wait for one of them to fall asleep first and then he would be home free.

But Seungkwan seemed to underestimate how loud Hoshi and DK were in comparison. Anytime someone thought about falling asleep, they were there, laughing, screaming, and popping more celebratory poppers (which typically led to more screaming).

After several minutes of trying to play mind games with Vernon, which was just him mentally screaming at the other boy to go to sleep, you nudged him.

"Hey, look at the moon."

He didn't even look. "What about it?"

"It's bright. A lot brighter than usual."

"It is?" He leaned back in his chair to actually look up this time. "It does look nice tonight."

"You should take a picture to commemorate it. Start of a new year."

Seungkwan blinked. How had he not thought of that? He loved pictures! "That's a great idea!" 

He spent the next several minutes trying to get the right angle for the picture, and then the perfect filter to go with it.

"Do you like this one? Or that one?" he murmured.

"Definitely that one."

He nodded in agreement. "Me too."

And once he was done with that project, you asked him what his dream stage performance would be. "Any song that you want to perform."

"Just one? Hmmm...." 

That killed another twenty minutes of him bouncing ideas around. He even showed you some of his dance moves.

It wasn't long before you realized that Wonwoo was fast asleep several members over.

"Seungkwan, look."

He glanced over and his eyes widened in realization. "I did it."

"You did it. Now you can go to sleep!" He frowned. "What?"

"Can we stay up and talk more? Just for a bit longer?"

You smiled. "Sure. How about you tell me...your favorite stage outfit of this year?"

He lit up and started listing off all of the performance outfits he could remember to narrow down the list. 

And when he did eventually fall asleep (still as the second member to do so) Seungkwan felt like it was a sign. A sign that they would make some big changes in the new year. And he couldn't wait to see what they'd be.


	18. 24 Hours - Jeonghan (Morning)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part of a unit focused series that I've wanted to work on for a few months. I decided to start with the vocal team and 24H. And since the new year is fast approaching, I thought it'd be fun to do a full 24-hour cycle with different members. Jeonghan is closing us out with the morning after, so please enjoy!

You woke up spread out on the couch. Something hard was underneath you and it was way too bright.

It took a couple of blinks for your eyes to adjust and register where you were. You sat up and looked around to see that Jeonghan was lying half underneath you and you shifted away from him.

He grumbled in his sleep, shifting around to get more comfortable.

You didn't remember when you went to sleep last night, but it was obvious that most of the others had been right behind you. The floor was littered with confetti and streamers that had fallen down during the night. Dino still had one gripped loosely in his hand from his burrito blanket roll on the floor. Joshua was curled up in a chair with his face pressed so hard into the armrest you were worried the creases would never come out of his skin.

It only took a few more seconds for you to register that all the drinks the night before had finally caught up with you. You snuck around who you assumed was Hoshi lying face down in the hallway (his jacket was covering his face but you definitely saw him breathing so you figured he was fine).

After finishing up in the bathroom, you carefully picked your way back to the couch again. 

"Han," you croaked.

Jeonghan mumbled something in response, taking in a sharp breath as he stretched his limbs. "Why are you awake already?"

"It's morning, dummy. It's time to get up."

"No," he whined immediately. "Five more minutes."

"Jeonghan--"

"Sleep."

And before you could protest, his arm closed around you and pulled you back against the cushions of the couch.

"If we stay like this long enough, Mingyu or Cheol will wake up and make breakfast." 

You sighed in defeat. "That does sound nice."

"Enjoy the quiet while it lasts. It's only for today," he mumbled, already drifting back to sleep. 

Like clockwork, Seungcheol did wake up within the next half hour and proceeded to make food. Within that same hour, most of the other members were awake too. The ones who had actually made it to their rooms the night before trudged down the hallway looking for the source of the smell.

Joshua went to wash his face almost immediately. Dino simply hovered around the kitchen with his blanket still wrapped tightly around his shoulders. You realized that the aroma of food really was like smelling salts to them, as even Jeonghan woke back up for it.

"Help yourself," Seungcheol said as he passed you a plate. You thanked him for the food and he smiled.

It was eerily quiet for a few minutes while everyone continued to wake up. Then Jun tried sneaking some food off Vernon's plate and chaos ensued.

Jeonghan was right - it really wasn't meant to last. 

Only a few hours after ringing in the new year, it felt like any other day around them. And that was how it should be.


End file.
